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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24989101">you’ve discovered something you don’t even have a name for</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fellstars/pseuds/fellstars'>fellstars</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, Byleths are twins, Byleths use sign language a bit, Dimitri has a dog, Gen, M/M, Mentions of alcohol, POV Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, Selectively Mute My Unit | Byleth, Sleepovers, found family trope, game nights, ingrid doesn’t exist they cut her racist ass off, mentions of weed, nothing too insane they're safe i promise</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:54:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,960</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24989101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fellstars/pseuds/fellstars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>But with graduation will come a new norm, a new routine for them all to get used to. A new path, as the Byleths often insist, for them to tread. A path, Dimitri hopes with all his heart, that he will continue to walk alongside Dedue. He thinks he’s lucky enough as it is, to know him let alone love him the way Dimitri does, so tenderly, so wholly, with his entire being so much to the point it could almost hurt. He thinks he’s maybe even a little <i>too<i> lucky, as though the universe had made a mistake, letting the stars write themselves in the favour of their love, but even so, Dimitri is thankful. He’s starting to believe he deserves it, may this be a miracle of sorts or otherwise.</i><br/>-<br/>Dimitri and his friends have monthly game nights at the Blue Lions' house, but tonight, emotions find a new high and he thinks hard about the future that's to come.</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Dedue Molinaro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you’ve discovered something you don’t even have a name for</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this fic wasn't meant to be this long, but either way i enjoyed every second of it, and a big reason behind that is because it's for one of my bestest, closest friends and brother, dimitri! happy birthday. i love you more than words can do any justice, but it's ok bc i wrote abt these kids being stupid together all for ur enjoyment. i really hope you like it.</p><p>QUICK NOTES ABOUT THE FIC THOUGH</p><p>the byleths are twins and yes. they're both called byleth for two reasons 1) what else do i call the other one and 2) if ur gonna tell me jeralt wouldnt just name both his kids the same name then ur wrong. f!byleth is dating claude and is referred to as "by" to distinguish between her and m!byleth, who is pining for jeritza LMAO<br/>also, dimitri has an emotional support dog called areadbhar. yes it's a ridiculous name for a dog, and that's all the more reason for her to be called that</p><p>ALSO SHOUTOUT TO SAMMY WHO HELPED EDIT THIS... god i love u i owe u my life... they write fics too, mostly naruto ones! find them <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupsofstardust">here!</a></p><p>OKAY THATS IT enjoy &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re late,” Felix drawls as he leans against the ajar door, pulling a face.</p><p>“You’re always so happy to see us.” Claude grins, his arm around By. “Are we the last ones here?” He shoulders the door open further, and Felix lets him in with a roll of his eyes.</p><p>Byleth smiles at him in passing as he says, “Even Hilda got here before you.”</p><p>“Hey! What’s that meant to mean!” Hilda’s wounded voice comes from the Blue Lions’ living room as she tips her head back to catch a glance of the latecomers.</p><p>Claude waves at her cheerily and she sticks her tongue at him. “We had trouble finding the projector.”</p><p>“Don’t you guys keep it in the same place?” Sylvain asks from where he’s cross-legged on the carpet, picking out games for the night.</p><p>“They usually do, but Byleth moved it when he was doing laundry. Since I was their ride, I helped look for it. We found it in the cupboard above the washing machine.” Claude pats Byleth's shoulder lightly as he says it with mock sympathy, and Byleth moves to cradle the projector in one hand to clumsily sign something defensive with the other.</p><p>“Dumbass,” By signs back and Byleth huffs, villainised despite his efforts.</p><p>“Don’t start fighting just yet,” Yuri says pleasantly with a smile no one should trust. He seems to be the victor of the beanbag this time. “We haven’t got popcorn.”</p><p>At the mention, Sylvain shoots up. “Popcorn! <em> That’s </em>what I forgot! Yo, Annette, can you get Dima’s Switch booted up for me, too?” He avoids the blow Felix aims for his shoulder as he shimmies past the group shedding their jackets.</p><p>“Aye aye, Captain!” Annette salutes and takes his place on the carpet. “Guys, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Smash, or Wii Sports?” Mixed responses blur together and Annette nods thoughtfully. “Cool, all of them, noted.”</p><p>“Hello, everyone! Oh, Byleth, would you like help with the projector?” Mercedes offers as she pads out of the kitchen, a cool glass bottle of something fizzy in her hand. Byleth nods enthusiastically and returns the wave Ashe gives him from where he’s sat a little awkwardly next to Hilda and Marianne. Marianne manages a greeting as she shakes with small laughter whilst Hilda sings along to what’s on the speakers, badly attempting to match her pitch to the singer’s own.</p><p>“Anything we can do?” By signs to Felix.</p><p>“Pretty sure it’s Claude’s turn to buy takeaway,” he says, and they all know it’s a lie. They also don’t really know whose turn it actually is because Annette accidentally burned the routa tacked to the wall above the cooker. No one brings it up though, because no one likes embarrassing Annette, not even Felix.</p><p>“Sure thing. Where’s the rest of the circus?” Claude asks while steering himself and By to the couches.</p><p>Footsteps coming from the stairs signal someone’s arrival, and Dimitri says as he reaches the living room, “I’m here! Sorry, I was using the bathroom. Dedue is just showing Bernadetta some of the new flowers we got. Ah, the Byleths are here! And Claude.” He settles on the armrest of the couch Marianne and Hilda occupy. “Would any of you like something to drink? Mercedes bought some alcohol, too.” Trailing behind him is Areadbhar, who’s quick to make her way to lick Byleth on the floor. Byleth looks utterly thrilled, perhaps more pleased by Garreg Mach’s approval for Dimitri to have an emotional support dog more than Dimitri himself.</p><p>“You do know we’re all legal adults here and can buy booze, right?” Claude quirks a brow.</p><p>At that, Dimitri turns a little pink. “Well, yes, of course! Mercedes just knows what brands are best, is all.”</p><p>“I don’t mind!” Mercedes insists as she fiddles with something attached to the projector.</p><p>Unconvinced, Claude allows a simple, “Uh huh.” He shifts a little to fish out his phone from his back pocket, holding By around the middle with one arm on his lap. “Well, I’m gonna order food for later once everyone’s here, so if we’re missing out on any soda I can get some. I’ll just have some beer or whatever you have right now. By?” He tilts his head a little to look at her.</p><p>“Water, please,” she says rather than signs.</p><p>“Of course! Byleth?” Dimitri calls, and Byleth points to his sister from the floor. “Excellent, two waters and one beer. Anyone else?”</p><p>“Oooh, Dimi, do you have something to take shots with later?” Hilda taps his thigh excitedly.</p><p>“I like her thinking,” Yuri chimes from his spot, suddenly perked up with enough interest to look up from his phone.</p><p>“Ah, I’m not sure, but if not I can go with Felix to the store nearby later.”</p><p>Felix scoffs from the bar stool he’s perched on at the counter. “Why me?”</p><p>Dimitri shrugs. “Sylvain’s banned."</p><p>“We said we wouldn’t speak of that again!” Sylvain whines, and Felix snickers.</p><p>“That and Dima’s afraid of buying adult shit,” Felix adds over the rim of his bottle. “He had to go buy knives with Ashe and Dedue last month because he was afraid to go alone and in case he got ID'd.”</p><p>“Though, to be fair,” Ashe pipes up and twists round to face him, “the workers at that Home Depot are sort of ruthless, so you can’t really hold that against him.”</p><p>Dimitri looks slightly relieved to be backed up a little. “Yes, they’re an odd bunch.” Felix just scoffs again and takes another swing.</p><p>The stairs creak again, and Dedue comes down them, joined by Bernadetta, who’s gesturing animatedly as they both discuss something — most likely flowers, with how the both of them have a special shine to their eyes. Dimitri feels himself smile at the sight of it, the ease to Dedue’s smile as the two talk. Bernadetta holds a plain pot to her chest protectively, a small shoot growing from the soil there.</p><p>“Oh, what flower is that, Bernie?” Ashe asks, still twisted round with his arm resting on the back of the couch.</p><p>Bernadetta jumps a little at being addressed, and her ears flush slightly. “Um, Dedue says it’s an amaryllis. This one will be purple. In general they mean ‘beautiful but timid’<em> . </em>Well, that’s just one of their meanings, anyway...” She ducks her head a little, somewhat embarrassed for being called on.</p><p>“Just like you, then.” Yuri winks at her once she makes her way over to where he’s sat on the beanbag. Bernadetta’s flush spreads from her ears to her face, and she complains loudly at his words as she settles in between his legs. She hides behind the pot as he presses kisses to her hot cheeks.</p><p>Dedue naturally drifts to where Dimitri’s still sat on the edge of the couch, arms wound around him without much thought. “We had an extra one that wouldn’t fit on the windowsill, so I suggested that Bernadetta should take it home.”</p><p>“Are we really out of space already?” Dimitri sounds surprised as he looks up at him, their fingers intertwining absently.</p><p>“I was thinking of giving a few of the blooming ones we have to your parents. You said your stepmother wanted a few more from Duscur. That way we will also make more room for new plants,” Dedue reminds him, and Dimitri’s face brightens with recognition. He recalls reciting his stepmother’s words to Dedue a few nights ago, watching as she sat in the small, worn chair in the corner of their shared room. Dimitri, as always, was the only one who could see her—or any of those who visited him so often for that matter—but Dedue understood, and smiled when he heard she had apparently asked for more blossoms from faraway soils. Her words, as well as everybody else’s, have grown kinder in the recent months especially. Something to do about letting go slowly, Dimitri’s therapist had claimed.</p><p>“Ah, yes, that’s right! She’ll love that, thank you, darling.” He tugs Dedue down for a small kiss, and Sylvain gags loudly from where he’s watching, leaning on the countertop. Dimitri sighs. “<em> Sylvain. </em>”</p><p>Sylvain raises his hands in mock innocence. “I’ve never done anything, ever!” He's quick to defend himself with utmost confidence. A sudden <em> BANG </em>sounds from behind him, and he yelps, evidently having waited to prove him otherwise. Areadbhar stands up quickly, roused from her idle nap, and Dimitri lets her pad over to nose his palm gently. He’s far better with loud noises now, but her presence is still appreciated and soothing. “Um. Anyone else smell burning?”</p><p>Claude laughs as Dedue quickly makes his way over to try and resolve whatever made the loud noise. Sylvain hovers awkwardly around him as Felix says something about how Sylvain had <em> only one job, </em>to which Sylvain simply flips him off. Smoke fills the kitchen space, and Felix coughs as it reaches him, rising to make a beeline for whatever nonexistent space there he tries to squeeze himself into.</p><p>“Wuss,” Yuri teases him and Felix seethes behind his booze. He knows Mercedes is watching, and is in no mood to upset her with his small spats with Yuri. If anything, that’s not due until after the fourth round of Smash.</p><p>Dedue takes the offensive item out of the microwave carefully using oven mitts, squinting as Sylvain helpfully tries to flap the smoke away with a kitchen towel. “You were making popcorn?”</p><p>“Uhh, yeah, I forgot to earlier and then Yuri reminded me,” Sylvain explains sheepishly.</p><p>“Drag me into this and see what happens to you in your sleep!” Yuri is quick to threaten, and with the reputation he has for tormenting those in the late hours of the night, it’s a threat worth being wary of.</p><p>Dedue nods and places the smoking bag of popcorn into the sink, opening the windows to let some air in. “Good thing I made some of my own in advance,” he says and reveals a few bowls of it as well as other snacks that he had hidden away, likely to keep some food preserved to last for longer than just the first half-hour of game night.</p><p>Sylvain’s too excited to even be mad. “Yeah, man! You sure do know me well, huh, Dedue?” He praises, hand patting his back.</p><p>“I’m yet to learn more. We might have to Sylvain-proof the rest of the house, too,” Dedue muses, just as Dimitri figures he’s in the clear to join them to fetch drinks.</p><p>“Anything for you, my love?” He squeezes Dedue’s arm as he slips by to open the fridge.</p><p>With a smile, Dedue replies, “Whatever you’re having.”</p><p>Sylvain pulls yet another unattractive face behind their backs after he accepts some cold beer from Dimitri, apologising for the sudden explosion, too. “Are we missing anything else?” He sneaks Areadbhar a snack as he comes wandering back into the living room. She scoffs it down loudly, and Sylvain hopes it’s not enough for Dimitri to catch him spoiling his dog some more, lest he scold him for it.</p><p>“Yeah, just waiting for you to burn the rest of the neighbourhood down before ordering takeaway,” Claude jokes, and Sylvain pretends to be backstabbed, falling to his knees dramatically in front of Felix.</p><p>“Fe! Save me! I’ve been wounded!” He flails stupidly and reaches for him.</p><p>Felix tries to shuffle away, but there’s little space to even try with how close he’s already sat next to Byleth, who watches silently. “Don’t spill beer on the carpet,” he says plainly, and Sylvain complains.</p><p>“C’mon, I’m dying here! No last words? At least tell me you love me! I want our mutual adoration to carry me to the afterlife once I take my last breath.” Sylvain worms his way between him and Mercedes and tangles his limbs with Felix’s own. Felix just sighs and kisses him to shut him up. Byleth averts his eyes and leans forward to catch Mercedes’ attention.</p><p>“How is Jeritza?” he signs, and Mercedes clasps her hands.</p><p>“Oh, he’s good! He’s going to be here a little later than usual. He’s got an extra shift tonight. He wanted me to tell you he said hello!” There’s something knowing behind her smile, and anyone with common sense would be able to detect it has something to do with the way Byleth’s cheeks darken.</p><p>“I say hello as well,” Byleth signs.</p><p>Mercedes laughs lightly, and assures him, “You’ll be able to tell him that yourself later.”</p><p>His sister mumbles something under her breath that only Claude catches, and he evidently tries to bite back laughter. He sobers a little when he catches Byleth glaring at him and feigns a cough, saved by Dimitri who comes between them to give them their drinks.</p><p>“Okay, if we’re all ready, order in court! Order in court!” Claude says loudly with an imitation of a judge as they all settle down in the living room. “Mercedes, let's start with you. You can pick something for Jeritza as well.” He’s slouched a little, with By still in his lap with her back against his chest. He’s got his chin resting on the top of her head, and he has his phone in front of both of them so that she can see the screen too.</p><p>Mercedes sits up a bit, thinking. “Hmm… Do we have a specific theme tonight?”</p><p>“I got paid on the weekend, so we can dent my wallet a little,” Claude says. “Bit of everything won’t hurt.”</p><p>Sylvain claps his hands suddenly, eyes wide with an idea. It’s worrisome. “Ooh, ooh! Can we get some McDonald’s Sprite? It has that kick to it. Like, licking battery acid but in a drink.” Felix gives him a look mixed between confusion and disgust, but Sylvain is too busy batting his eyelids at Claude to even notice.</p><p>“But can we also make sure Ashe and I get some veggie options? Oh! And Marianne, sorry.” Annette waves her hand around as if pleading for a teacher’s attention. At that, everyone seems to raise their voices a little, all trying to get their orders in.</p><p>Claude groans. “So much for trying to keep it simple, huh,” he mumbles into By’s hair and kisses her roots before calling for everyone to shut the fuck up and let Mercedes speak. It takes a while, with Sylvain and Annette arguing about whether chicken nuggets are worth bending the rules of vegetarianism for, leading onto about three different tangents in between. Once By picks out something for her to share with her brother, Claude hits <em> ORDER AND PAY </em>with a relieved sigh.</p><p>“When will it arrive?” Dimitri asks as he helps Ashe move the coffee table to make more room.</p><p>Claude locks his phone and puts it aside. “Uhh, I asked for it to start getting here in about two hours. Figured the snacks could probably keep us going until then.”</p><p>“Alright!” Annette gets up to retrieve the whiteboard slotted between the wall and the bookshelf. On it, her handwriting—which is easily the neatest in the whole of the Blue Lions—is all over it in differently coloured markers all, undoubtedly, with meaning behind them. The board is split into four columns and the rows separated by everyone’s names. “Let’s vote for the first game! Hands up for Mario Kart! Okay… three… four…? Four, okay. Mario Party? … Seven! Wii Sports? Just me? Hmph, whatever. So that leaves three for Smash. So, unless we have any objections, tonight it’s Mario Party first, then Mario Kart, Smash and finally Wii Sports.” </p><p>“Uh, Annie, I feel like we should finally nip the bud and officially drop Wii Sports from game nights,” Sylvain attempts gently.</p><p>“What?!” Annette looks disturbed by the idea alone. “Why?”</p><p>No one dares to mention how absolutely terrifying Annette gets during Wii Tennis. Ashe recalls with a slight shiver how she very nearly knocked his teeth out during a match three months ago, despite being on the same team. Sylvain seems to remember that, too, or something else that’s quite similar and just as scary. He’s too afraid to entertain that sort of reason, though, and laughs nervously when he licks his lips. </p><p>Luckily for him, Yuri smoothly says, “It’s too much effort to change between the Switch and the Wii for the projector. By then we’re all too full to play something that requires standing up and moving around, too.”</p><p>Annette pouts, but relents with a sigh. When she can’t see, Sylvain throws Yuri a thumbs up in gratitude. “Fine, you’re right. I won’t vote then, so we can keep the order the same. Okay…” She flips the board over, uncapping a marker from her pocket with her teeth. Around it, she says, “Pick your teams and nominate a leader. There should be… four? Yeah, and then two extra people to shuffle into a team.”</p><p>There’s a sudden scramble as people then fight for who to side with, changing seats. Felix and Sylvain rush to tower over Dedue and Dimitri, arguing over which gets to team with them. It ends in an angry match of rock, paper, scissors, and Sylvain switches from paper to rock at the last second, and Felix nearly fists his shirt and shakes him for being such a bad cheat.</p><p>“No, no <em> way </em>, I don’t want Sylvain on my team,” Claude gives the sore loser a pointed look as he looks on hopefully at where he’s sat on the couch with By on his lap still, joined by Mercedes.</p><p>Felix groans loudly and throws his hands up. “Fine! I’ll go, Sylvain’s sorry ass can stay with these losers. By’s a better player anyway.”</p><p>“Hello? King of the party here?” Claude gestures to himself, offended. Felix ignores him, and By snorts, patting Claude’s hand sympathetically. “Really? No, ‘Claude, you’re the best, don’t worry about Felix! I love you, Claude! You’re so cool, Claude!’?” By pretends to get a call, and Claude laughs, too fond to keep up the act.</p><p>Sylvain kisses Felix’s cheek loudly before collapsing on the couch next to Dedue. “You’re the absolute love of my life!”</p><p>“This wasn’t for you,” Felix insists, but there’s a slight quirk to his lips anyway.</p><p>“Sorry, Felix,” Dimitri says sheepishly, and Felix flips him off with his usual charm.</p><p>Annette starts taking note of the teams, making sure to just name them after the leaders instead of asking for them all to think of something. Sylvain has a history of conjuring something that takes up too much board space and ends up turning into an obscure abbreviation. “Okay! Team Yuri!” Ashe cheers while Bernadetta allows a small <em> yay, </em>with Yuri looking smug in his beanbag throne. Sylvain and Claude boo them. “Team Hilda?” Byleth does a silent cheer and Hilda makes a show of bouncing Marianne up and down on her lap in excitement as she chants her own name. Sylvain and Claude continue to boo. “Team Dedue?"</p><p>“DEDUE, DEDUE, DEDUE, DEDUE!” Sylvain gets to his feet, fist pumping in the air and both syllables of Dedue’s name dragged out for effect. Areadbhar barks in agreement, and Dimitri laughs, petting her.</p><p>From the carpet at the foot of the other couch, Felix smirks. “Bet you guys miss me now, huh?” Before they can have an interlude where Felix and Sylvain bicker some more, Annette brings the attention back onto her.</p><p>“And finally, Team Claude!”</p><p>By and Felix both throw peace signs unanimously with blank faces, the exception being the daunting determination in their eyes. Mercedes claps, just as Claude insists solemnly, “Just don’t hold any grudges when we win, okay? Okay.” Sylvain boos him. “Aw, c’mon, man! I didn’t boo you!”</p><p>“And that was your first mistake!” Sylvain grins and Claude waves him off. Although this is real life, it wouldn’t be surprising if a sign had appeared above the couch there, reassuring <em> Claude will remember that. </em></p><p>Annette rests the whiteboard against the wall and tucks the marker behind her ear. “Cool! I’ll close my eyes and spin, when someone yells stop, the team I’m pointing at will be the one I join.” The group agrees, and Annette does just that, eyes slipping shut as she outstretches a hand with her pointer finger.</p><p>Claude waves to get people’s attention, mouthing, <em> “No one say stop.” </em></p><p>So, Annette spins about six times, met with nothing but silence. She sighs and stops herself, pointing at Hilda’s team which are huddled directly opposite her. “Sylvain, you suck,” she complains and squeezes herself in between the Hilda and Marianne fusion and Byleth, all who seem pleased by the extra addition.</p><p>“What?! I didn’t do shit!” Sylvain defends.</p><p>Claude scoffs. “<em>Yeah, </em>Sylvain. You suck.”</p><p>Sylvain sits back on the couch, as if just receiving the worst news of his life. Dimitri says, “There, there,” too sincerely.</p><p>“If we’re done with the Shakespeare tragedy, can we get going?” Yuri drawls from his beanbag.</p><p>The attention then shifts to the wall where the Switch screen is projected to, and soon enough, controllers are distributed to the leaders. Mario Party flashes up, and once the right game modes are set up, there’s a rush for characters to be picked. Those wiser (which isn’t a lot of them) had quietly settled on who they would play as, and arguments bubble when they snatch up characters faster than everybody else.</p><p>“Oh, you asswipes!” Sylvain accuses, pointing at Claude’s team.”Not you, Mercedes, you’re a joy to have, I love you. But the rest of you!"</p><p>By and Claude high five, both smug. “Listen, man, you may have wanted Daisy, but Daisy didn’t want you.”</p><p>“Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you,” Sylvain insists, to which Claude only cackles to. “Felix, you’re such a traitor!”</p><p>“You’re the one who cheated me over here!” Felix shoots.</p><p>Sylvain sits back, arms crossed and pouting. “Fine! I vote for Peach, then.”</p><p>Hilda throws her head back and does one, big <em> HA! </em>“Too late, bitch boy!”</p><p>Distress paints itself on Sylvain’s face. He shuts his eyes. “It’s just blow after blow, huh… Please god, don’t take Waluigi away from me.”</p><p>“Relax about it, he’s there in all his horrifying glory,” Yuri assures from where his chin rests on Bernadetta’s head. His team has chosen King Boo as their mascot.</p><p>“Hit it, Dedue!” Sylvain pleads, and Dedue shuffles his cursor over to where Waluigi is, selecting him. “At the end of the day, Waluigi,” he says solemnly, clutching at his heart when he hears the soothing tones of Waluigi say his own name.</p><p>Dimitri watches with fascination as he slumps further into the couch, and shakes his head before turning his gaze back to the projection of the game. They speed through a few warm-up games, the controllers getting passed around so that everybody gets a turn, and there’s some sort of unparalleled fear that comes with Bernadetta violently swearing at King Boo when she loses a star. Yuri looks far too overjoyed and fond for someone with a screaming girlfriend in his lap, but Dimitri isn’t one to judge, swearing colourfully himself when he loses a star of his own. Sylvain bellows in his ear, and a small part of him truly does regret letting Felix walk away to Claude’s team.</p><p>Bernadetta hands the controller over to Ashe once her turn is over, and her face is glowing red from what can only be held back rage. Mercedes is one of the few people no soul can be angry at, not even for a second. Claude waves cheekily with wiggling fingers, basking in the victory his team gets handed on a platter with each round, and Bernadetta begs Yuri to cause some damage on her behalf. Yuri only chuckles darkly, and it seems to please her enough, because she falls silent once more when the next round kickstarts as Annette crawls back to her team after tallying up the win on the whiteboard.</p><p>It’s not until things get  particularly heated with the winning streak Claude’s team claim easily when Marianne is furiously pressing the buttons on her controller. Dimitri regrets sitting in such close proximity to her, because all she is during game nights, especially after a drink or two of something vaguely alcoholic, is a string of swears even Felix didn’t know could be combined into such great effect. It’s a mystery how Areadbhar gets any napping done in the midst of such chaos, but Dimitri supposes she’s grown accustomed to noise like this. Hilda half-shrieks her cheers, and Annette bites her nails in anticipation. Byleth’s clapping picks up the speed, just as —</p><p>“YES!” Marianne shoots up to her feet, controller raised above her head in victory.</p><p>Hilda whoops. “That’s my girlfriend, losers!”</p><p>Felix sits back against the couch on the floor with disbelief. He looks at Mercedes, so much hurt in his eyes. “Every fucking time.” Mercedes just nods and squeezes his shoulder in comfort.</p><p>“No, no, no,” Claude reassures, patting Felix’s head from above as By accepts the controller. “We still have the upper hand, my dear catboy.”</p><p>He cranes his head, disturbed. “Catboy?!”</p><p>"I get vibes," Claude claims with a shrug, turning his head just as Hilda pipes up.</p><p>“No way! We’re gonna win! It only goes up from here for Team Hilda!”</p><p>“Oh, you underestimate the power of Byleth.” Claude grins widely and kisses By’s cheek to punctuate his point.</p><p>“Uh, we have a Byleth too!” Hilda points at the twin sitting next to her, who puffs his chest out importantly.</p><p>“Yeah!” he insists loudly, and for valid reason. Both twins are valuable assets to any video game.</p><p>“Oh, god,” Ashe quickly hands the controller to Yuri in fear. “It’s the Byleth Showdown.”</p><p>Yuri scorns, putting pressure on his knuckles and lolling his head so a <em> crack </em>sounds there, too. “Worry not, my dear teammates. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”</p><p>“I feel as though our best chance is to simply gang up against Claude’s team if the goal is no longer to win but simply keep them from earning yet another victory,” Dedue suggests, and Claude makes a pained noise at the back of his throat.</p><p>“And here I thought you were a good guy, Dedue. What happened to you?”</p><p>Dedue only smiles, and if Dimitri is honest, the sight makes his chest constrict.</p><p>Dimitri faces the rest of the group. “Are we in agreement, then?”</p><p>Yuri makes a face of mild approval. “It’s one way to bring Claude down. Then it will be time for the Era of Team Yuri.”</p><p>Annette does an impressive <em> pfft! </em> and laughs. “Era of Team Yuri? Seriously? We have Marianne <em> and </em>Byleth."</p><p>Ashe counters quickly, “We have Bernadetta!”</p><p>“Bernadetta, and then also Bernadetta after vodka.” Yuri smiles devilishly.</p><p>Bernadetta perks up. “Oh! I love vodka Bernie!”</p><p>“Cheers, I’ll drink to that!” Sylvain tips his near-empty bottle of beer in her vague direction.</p><p>Mercedes, ever the Catholic, suggests, “I think we should all play nice. It would be a shame if competition got in the way of all the fun.”</p><p>Felix inclines his head to give her a look. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”</p><p>“Oh, no, not at all, I’ve just had a beer is all!” Mercedes smiles cheerily and Felix nods thoughtfully.</p><p>Impatient, By speaks up. “Can we fight already?”</p><p>No one corrects <em> fight </em> to <em> play </em> because maybe at this point, it truly is war. The next round commences, and a sort of familiar tension rises in the room, along with the volume as all players are violently encouraged by their teammates. Even more swearing mingles with shouted instructions, and when Byleth wins the round against his sister, cheers erupt around the room. They grow quiet all at once, though, when By does her mad sigh, eyes narrowed in frustration. Looks of desperation meet Claude, and Claude is quick to confiscate the controller and hastily fumbles to give it to Felix as he does his best to calm the storm that is his girlfriend. It’s all fun and games until By loses. She’s no real threat, and her brother is hardly any different—angering either Byleth is a cause for disaster—but Claude seems to be the perfect remedy for trouble for once, with how his teasing and affection elicits a small laugh out of his girlfriend.</p><p>He does an OK symbol with his hand. “We safe, fellas.” The room is filled with applause.</p><p>A few more rounds commence, with a break in between when Sylvain manages to provoke Yuri in a heated debate about the Nintendo family tree (“Sylvain, you ignorant slut, I will literally kill you in your sleep—Peach and Daisy are <em> cousins! </em> ” to which Sylvain yells back, with the bowl of popcorn being passed around in amusement to the rest of the group, “NINTENDO NEVER CONFIRMED IT! <em> ” </em>). When the results of the game are coming in, everyone stomps their feet or pats their thighs in a drumroll, even Felix.</p><p>Team Yuri comes in last, just one point behind Team Dedue, to which Bernadetta bemoans their loss a little, brightened only by Yuri’s reminder of the upcoming Mario Kart competition which is plenty of redemption material. Sylvain boasts that while first is the worst, and second is the best, it’s third who are the ones with the hairy chests. Loud complaints follow his words, which only encourages his grin to widen. When Team Claude flashes up as second, Hilda screams in delight, resulting in Dimitri’s eardrums to split, followed by Claude and Felix’s especially loud demands for a rematch. The twins sign aggressively at each other, too fast for any of them to be able to understand what’s being exchanged, but judging by the vein bulging at By’s temple, it’s nothing pretty.</p><p>“Oh, I’m gonna get custom shirts made for us. Quick, tell me the date, I’ll have it printed on the back,” Hilda says with swelling pride, already typing on her phone.</p><p>“Thought we were friends, Hilda,” Claude whines.</p><p>Without even looking up from her screen, Hilda promises, “You thought wrong, bitch.”</p><p>Sylvain grins. “Nice.” Two pillows are thrown at his face. He nods in response. “Touché.”</p><p>Mercedes breaks up the bickering just as Byleth and Annette clink their glasses in celebration. “I think we should all take a break to eat! I made cookies for us to enjoy, and I know Dedue has also spent some time in the kitchen.”</p><p>Dedue sits up. “Oh, yes. I will bring them out now.”</p><p>As he gets up, Dimitri stretches, and his joints pop pleasantly. “I think now would be a good time to go and buy some more alcohol. Felix, care to join me?”</p><p>Felix groans. “Fine. Only because going to the store is less hassle than bailing you out of jail for trying to buy adult goods.” </p><p>Dimitri pouts. “You’re cruel.”</p><p>“And you’re a baby,” Felix insists, but all in good jest. He swats Sylvain’s grabby hands away, trying to get to his feet. Sylvain follows him to the door out of spite, pouting all the way.</p><p>Claude fiddles with his phone. “I’ll come with, I know what kind of shit Hilda likes and kicks hard. Meanwhile, takeaway should be here by the time we get back, so we can eat in between Mario Kart competitions.”</p><p>“Oh, excellent! Emile should arrive by then.” Mercedes smiles. Byleth signs excitedly, turning to Annette to try and settle getting a round with Jeritza, judging by the rounded pleading to his eyes.</p><p>Yuri says, “Hold on, I think I’ll come, too. You okay with me going?” He directs his question to Bernadetta, looking down at her.</p><p>She nods. “I feel safe here! I think.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, you’re in safe hands,” Ashe assures with a squeeze of her knee, and Bernadetta smiles.</p><p>Yuri wriggles out from under her, picking up his tote bag. “Alright, I’ve got my phone so if you need anything — and I mean <em> anything </em>— text me, yeah?”</p><p>Bernadetta tucks some of his hair from out of his face and behind his ear. “I will. Bernie promises.”</p><p>He smiles easily. “Good.” He kisses her softly, which makes Bernadetta’s cheeks stain a pretty pink rather fast. “Love you."</p><p>She blinks, a little dazed, and replies belatedly, “Um, love — love you too!”</p><p>Yuri’s grin is sappy as he stalks over to put his shoes on. Claude seems to be giving By similar affections, and they both giggle into the kiss they share, which only makes Felix sigh heavily. He’s all ready to go.</p><p>“We’re going to the store, not to war,” he reminds them, which only piques Sylvain’s interest.</p><p>He tugs lightly on Felix’s jacket, pulling him close. “Do I get a goodbye kiss, too?”</p><p>Felix snorts. “No.” And yet he’s already standing on his toes, ready to meet Sylvain in the middle.</p><p>Dimitri shakes his head fondly at the scene, pushing through to get to Dedue in the kitchen. He notes with a loving pang in his chest that he’s wearing his pink apron with all the hearts. “Just going out to the store. Do we need anything?”</p><p>Dedue shakes his head. “I think we’re alright to just go shopping to fill the fridge tomorrow on a proper trip.”</p><p>“Good, good,” Dimitri says, hovering a little. His key jingle as he fiddles with them, watching Dedue move around the kitchen.</p><p>Setting the bowls of sugary goods aside, Dedue turns to him. “Would you also like a goodbye kiss?”</p><p>The effect is immediate, and Dimitri’s face is a little red. He averts his eyes. “Only if you would, too.”</p><p>Dedue shakes his head, and for a moment a rock drops to Dimitri’s stomach. He’s met with a soft smile though, one that turns the sudden knot in his gut molton. “I would be kissing you every second I could if we didn’t need to breathe,” Dedue promises quietly, which only worsens Dimitri’s flustered state. Dedue’s lips are just as soft as the smile he kisses into him, and Dimitri feels him absently card his hand through his half-formed mullet—it’s in an awkward stage of growth, but it hardly matters to either of them. “Stay safe,” Dedue tells him when they pull away.</p><p>Dimitri feels a little dizzy. “Of course. I have a shoplifter, a schemer and a Felix with me. Nothing could possibly go wrong.”</p><p>With a chuckle, Dedue lets him go, and Dimitri twists to see said shoplifter, schemer and Felix watching them, all with differing expressions that only embarrass Dimitri further. Claude smirks at him as he goes to join them to the door, and the raised brow Yuri has on his face makes him duck his head bashfully. He dares not look at Felix properly to keep his weak clutch on the last remnants of dignity he clings to.</p><p>“Okay, kids, back in a bit! Takeaway is already paid for if it comes before we do. Don’t burn the house down when we’re gone!” Claude projects his voice as the door swings open for them to file out of, and he shoots Annette a pointed look with a playful wink as he says the last part. She gasps, indignant, and he laughs as the group call their goodbyes.</p><p>The day is still warm, and the sky overcast with a deep orange that makes all their faces glow as they walk towards the store. They talk quietly amongst each other, Claude and Dimitri in front with Yuri and Felix trailing behind. A few cars drive past, and a small group of kids laugh loudly as they chatter from the other side of the street. With that, and the light breeze that messes with his fringe, Dimitri feels an ache carve at his chest. It has no malicious intent, it’s just… a sort of premature nostalgia, some sort of strange awareness of this moment, this night, the ridiculous shit he and his friends are yet to get up to, will be something he will look back on as the years pass, and ache some more.</p><p>Dimitri’s twenty-two, but he simultaneously feels sixteen and sixty. If asked, he wouldn’t be able to explain this absurd feeling, but with the wistful laughter that leaves Claude’s lips, and the rare, soft smile on Felix’s face, and the small sigh Yuri sighs, he knows he’s probably not the only one feeling like this. They’re all growing up, whether they like it or not, right now just stuck in an odd in between of unapologetic youth and the impending doom that is true adulthood. In a few months, life will be drastically different, as most of them will graduate, and the Blue Lions’ shared house will be no more. Dimitri can’t imagine it; these monthly game nights with friends, the early mornings where they would all rush to pour cereal and milk into bowls to make it in time for an 8 AM class, the hectic exam weeks where half of them would be pacing around the living room with notes read aloud, the other half hiding away in their rooms, cramming… It will all be gone, and the graduates are to face the world, while the remaining members will grind for a final year.</p><p>All of them would give anything for these moments to last, especially those like Dimitri who had missed out on so much. Dimitri’s livelihood had been robbed by the ghosts inside his head. His friends, he knew, had their own wars behind their closed eyes. But now, they were stealing it back with moments like these, shared with friends and filled to the brim with mirth that Dimitri gets drunk on in a way no bottle of mysterious fizz could.</p><p>But with graduation will come a new norm, a new routine for them all to get used to. A new path, as the Byleths often insist, for them to tread. A path, Dimitri hopes with all his heart, that he will continue to walk alongside Dedue. He thinks he’s lucky enough as it is, to know him let alone love him the way Dimitri does, so tenderly, so wholly, with his entire being so much to the point it could almost hurt. He thinks he’s maybe even a little <em> too </em>lucky, as though the universe had made a mistake, letting the stars write themselves in the favour of their love, but even so, Dimitri is thankful. He’s starting to believe he deserves it, may this be a miracle of sorts or otherwise.</p><p>Claude elbows him lightly in the ribs, and it jolts him out of his thoughts. “You look like you’re thinking a little too hard.”</p><p>They’re at the park in between the market and the student housing now, and the pathway is wider, letting them walk in a four. From next to him, Felix jokes dryly, “It looks painful.”</p><p>“Care to share what’s on your mind, friend?” Yuri encourages, around the hairband in his mouth as he fiddles to put his hair up.</p><p>Dimitri breathes a sigh, long and full of something the others can’t quite read. “I’m thinking of proposing to Dedue.”</p><p>They all stop walking at once, Felix nearly tripping over the very rock he was about to kick with his shoe, Claude missing the tree branch he jumped for with an outstretched hand, and Yuri’s hairband shooting off somewhere into the grass. Silence meets them all, an invisible companion, and Dimitri swallows nervously. </p><p>Claude speaks up first, eyes wide. “Dude. Are you for real?”</p><p>With a slow nod, Dimitri confirms it, and Yuri says easily, “Well, you have my full support.” He seems to quietly mourn the loss of his hairband, but then looks over to face Dimitri. “You two already act married, actually.”</p><p>At that, Claude agrees loudly with a hum, and Dimitri laughs a little hysterically. “Is that so?”</p><p>“Honestly, out of all of us, I think I’ve always expected you guys to get hitched first,” Claude admits, slinging an arm around Dimitri’s shoulder, grinning. “How long have you been thinking about it for?”</p><p>Dimitri blushes. “Um, well, a—a few months now, I think…”</p><p>Yuri’s smile is suddenly smug. “Are we the first to know?”</p><p>With a wince, Dimitri imagines the absolute outrage from Sylvain especially if he were to find out he’s being excluded from this little confession. “Yes, but please don’t tell anyone! And I mean, <em> anyone </em>, I—I really want to keep this a surprise… Honestly, the three of you seem to be the most trustworthy to keep it a secret.” It’s true—Annette would probably burst into tears at any following interaction between him and Dedue if she found out, and Mercedes would smile the same knowing smile she does whenever Jeritza and Byleth talk about the other, and Ashe would never be able to keep quiet for long enough without telling Dedue out of guilt. Sylvain can hardly keep any big news to himself for longer than five minutes, and Hilda is certainly no better. Marianne and Bernadetta would both crumble and come clean if Dedue looked at them for a moment too long, and the Byleths— </p><p>“I swear not to tell a single soul, but I know the second we get back, By will somehow know exactly what happened with just one look at me. Hell, Byleth’s the same,” Claude tells him, and Dimitri quite agrees, but trusts the both of them wouldn’t let it slip.</p><p>With a wave of his hand, Yuri promises, “Your secret is under lock and key with me.”</p><p>Only now does Dimitri realise that Felix hasn’t spoken since he said it, and he bites his lip as he looks over at him. Felix’s eyes are hooded, and his mouth twists into a frown. A new flurry of nerves hits him, and Dimitri suddenly feels a little faint. If his best friend (and only so recently declared so again, after everything they’ve both been through) doesn’t think it’s a wise choice—</p><p>Felix pulls Dimiri down roughly with a fistful of his neat, blue polo shirt. Their eyes are leveled with each other, and Felix says with great clarity, index finger digging into his chest, “Don’t fucking bail on it, you asshole.”</p><p>Dimitri blinks, caught off guard, and then he smiles. He hopes the sudden glassiness to his eyes isn’t as obvious in the shade of the trees. “I won’t. I promise.”</p><p>“And you better take me with you to buy the ring, otherwise you’ll overthink it entirely and then propose with a ring pop or something just because Sylvain suggested it.” As he says it, Felix’s hard demeanor seems to fade, because a smile of his own crawls on his face.</p><p>“Only if you’ll be my best man,” Dimitri is quick to demand back, and Felix’s eyes widen. He pushes Dimitri back, and he stumbles a little into Claude, who grasps his shoulders.</p><p>Felix shakes his head, but Dimitri can see that it’s not with disagreement. “You’re fucking insane. You know that, right?”</p><p>Dimitri shrugs. “Then what does that make you?”</p><p>And then Felix shakes his head again, laughing. “Shut up. Let’s move it.” And the reality of the moment hits. Right, yes. The store, the booze, the game night.</p><p>Claude pats Dimitri’s shoulder goodnaturedly as they all fall back into stride, and the conversation fixated on the ring, the proposal — and the wedding!</p><p>“Bernadetta can be in charge of flowers and I can work on outfits!” Yuri is quick to say, a shine to his eyes, and Dimitri holds tears back the whole way to the 7/11 with the broken neon lights.</p><p>The automatic doors slide open as they approach them, Dimitri saying awkwardly, “Ah, we don’t even know if he will say yes. Planning for the wedding already seems a little extreme.”</p><p>At his words, Claude sticks his foot out to intentionally trip Dimitri up, with Felix swooping to punch his arm. Dimitri only just sights from the corner of his eye Yuri nicking his wallet from his back jean pocket as he stumbles slightly forward. He really ought to watch his self-deprecating tongue it seems.</p><p>“You were saying, friend?” Yuri flips through the contents of his wallet, and Dimitri sighs.</p><p>Felix hands the basket to Claude for him to hold. “Nothing smart, as usual.”</p><p>“Shame,” Claude insists, and Dimitri can’t help but roll his eyes. He’s lucky. He really, well and truly is.</p><p>For a Friday night, the place is somewhat deserted, which Claude claims to be a win—no queues and a faster return back to the Blue Lions house, and they might just make it in time to scoff down a few scraps of takeaway in case the rest of them have eaten it all. The group hunt down the freezers with the alcohol, and Dimitri shivers a little as the cool air hits him, too used to the warmth of company and the summer sun. If he’s honest with himself, the selection is overwhelming, and he does mean it when he says he relies on Mercedes to grab some for them for this exact reason. That, and he supposes getting ID’d is a fear, too, but he’d never indulge Felix in admitting to it.</p><p>Felix mutters to himself as he reads the labels of some ciders, plucking one out and twisting it round to skim the back. Trying to be at least somewhat useful, Dimitri reads over his shoulder. It seems to be some fruit-mix, a combination of berries.</p><p>Correctly, he points out, “You don’t like sweet things.”</p><p>Shaking his head no, Felix agrees. “Sylvain likes this stuff, though. Only pretends to like that beer shit. Give him something colourful to drink, and he’ll lap it up.” He’s fond, through and through.</p><p>“Same with Hilda. I remember during our first year, all she would ever drink was—aha!” Claude grins like a maniac, rising from where he was knelt to show them an obnoxiously pink concoction that Dimitri wouldn’t drink even if it meant saving his life. “Shit, I thought they discontinued this stuff. Should’ve, it tastes so terrible, it’s actually criminal. I’ll get it for her anyway, she won’t be able to have this back at home since I’m pretty sure her brother would have a heart attack.”</p><p>Yuri takes it from him, and barks a laugh when he reads the recipe. “Christ, this is gonna send her bouncing off the walls with the amount of sugar that’s in it.” He shakes it lightly before setting it into the basket Claude’s still holding.</p><p>“Right? But the crash is insane. That stuff is lethal. Kinda wanna get By to try it. She has such a weirdly unbiased palette. Swear she’ll eat anything—unless it’s some textured stuff. Overstimulates her. It’s why I never cook with mushrooms anymore.” Claude grabs another bottle of the sickly pink bottle.</p><p>“That’s adorable,” Yuri coos, hoisting two bottles of vodka from the shelves.</p><p>Vaguely flustered, Claude defends, “As if you don’t do the same for Bernie.”</p><p>At that, Yuri shrugs. “Love makes you do strange things. Like adopting ferrets. But in my defence, it’s not my fault I’m deathly allergic to cats <em> and </em>dogs.”</p><p>Dimitri’s eyes turn round, and he feels himself pale. “You’re allergic to dogs?!” He feels mortified. “Oh, my god. Oh, have I been killing you slowly letting Areadbhar out around you?!”</p><p>Yuri laughs and places a hand on his shoulder, assuring him, “No, calm down, you’re fine. I have meds for it, I take them every time I come over.” He places the vodka bottles with the pink poison. “Trust me, though, Bernadetta was devastated when she found out. She so badly wanted a cat, I felt like an ass. But ferrets were a good compromise, it seems.”</p><p>Dimitri slumps a little with relief, sighing, too. “You had me worried for a second…”</p><p>With a wink, Yuri stalks off further down the aisle, in search of something else. Claude and Felix grab some more bottles and cans of even more alcoholic brands Dimitri knows nothing about, and he hovers awkwardly around them, feigning interest in the opposite shelves selling seasoning and spices. He knows Dedue wants to go and stock up the kitchen tomorrow when they go shopping, but he can’t resist grabbing a few Duscur spices he knows he likes to cook with.</p><p>Felix makes an amused noise at the back of his throat. “Came here for booze, leaving with spices. My brother might not be here to laugh at you, but I am. Ha.”</p><p>Dimitri pouts. “I did say Mercedes knows better than me. Besides, Dedue might like these.”</p><p>With the basket full of sloshing goods, Claude rests his arm at Dimitri’s shoulders again. “Awww, buying things for your fiancé-to-be? Cute.”</p><p>A hot blush washes over him, and Dimitri groans. “I regret telling you.”</p><p>“Nah, ya don’t.” Claude smirks lightly. And he’s right. “Alright, I think this should be enough to last the night, and we can hold off the rest for when we have our next get-together.”</p><p>While Dimitri notes how it looks like it’s enough alcohol to last them the rest of the <em> year, </em>Felix leads the way to the checkouts. “Dima’s paying, though.”</p><p>“Oh, of course! Claude paid for takeaway.” Dimitri nods.</p><p>Yuri’s already waiting for them, a pack of Sour Patch Kids in his hands. “Well, I have his wallet, so he would’ve been, one way or another.”</p><p>Claude points. “That for you?”</p><p>“Nah, for Bernadetta. I already paid for it though—with my own card, I promise.”</p><p>Not that Dimitri would mind, anyway. They approach the only cashier working at the tills, Claude setting the basket down for her to scan their goods. Dimitri hangs back, silently sweating bullets. Is it not suspicious to buy so much alcohol all at once? Would they get ID’d? Oh, god, does Dimitri even <em> have </em>his on him?</p><p>Claude’s phone dings<em> , </em> and he checks it, snorting a laugh. “Well, the gang’s up to no good back at home.” They all crowd around him to look at his phone screen, reading texts from <em> My Star </em>, who is undoubtedly By. There’s a photo there with no other text to explain its content, which is Dedue balancing both Ashe and Annette on his shoulders with a somewhat humoured expression. Following it, another photo comes in, this time of the group busying themselves with a round of Twister. Sylvain’s ass is in Byleth’s face, and the photo was taken just as Bernadetta was evidently falling from whatever position she had been in, right onto Marianne. Jeritza seems to have joined them, standing with Areadbhar clawing at his front excitedly as he mans the spinner for the game. The last photo is of what seems to be a fair amount of them… stacking up on each other? It’s taken in selfie mode, with By sipping on a Caprisun neutrally in the corner of the photo.</p><p>Claude types, <em> wtf r they doing in the last one </em></p><p>He laughs again when By’s reply comes in: <em> sylvain says “human jenga” </em></p><p>With a glance at Felix, Yuri says, “That’s your boyfriend.”</p><p>Too used to such behaviour, Felix argues, “I’m all the impulse control he’s got."</p><p>The girl pops her bubble gum loudly, bringing attention back to her as she rests her elbow against the counter. “That’s $32.69.”</p><p>Under his breath, Claude says, “Nice.”</p><p>Yuri hands Dimitri’s credit card over and the girl slots it in. “Dima, we need your pin.”</p><p>He’s smart enough to push through them to punch it in himself, hardly one to trust Yuri with his credit card details. Shit, did he put it in correctly? The machine takes too long to load, and oh, Christ, he’s going to get arrested— </p><p>“Would you like a receipt?” the girl chews loudly, and Dimitri clumsily accepts his card back along with the wallet Yuri pushes into his hands. He’s swamped with relief. Now he’s thankful for how much shit they’ve bought since it saves him another stressful trip like this in the near future.</p><p>As Felix helps some of the bottles into Yuri’s bag, Claude smiles. “Nah, we’re good. Thanks.”</p><p>She nods, and Dimitri follows them back out the automatic doors. As they get greeted by the remaining warmth of the dying day, Claude passes over a cold bottle of beer to him, already uncapped. Dimitri pulls a face.</p><p>“What’s this for?”</p><p>A hiss sounds as another bottle gets opened, and Yuri huffs a laugh. “A toast, obviously.”</p><p>“For… what?”</p><p>Felix sighs. “You and Dedue, stupid.”</p><p><em> Oh. </em>Dimitri waves his hands around, careful to not spill the drink. “No, there’s no need, nothing’s even happened y—”</p><p>They all ignore him, and Claude dramatically clears his throat. “To the love of our friends! May it be filled with laughter and good health,” he toasts, moving his beer to the centre of the circle they have unconsciously formed.</p><p>“To great sex.” Yuri winks, joining him. Dimitri’s ears feel hot. “And long lives, surrounded by good fortune and equally good friends.”</p><p>Felix’s beer meets the middle, and he smiles, honest and true, eyes catching Dimitri’s. “And well deserved happiness. To Dedue and Dimitri!”</p><p>Dimitri laughs wetly as the other two echo Felix’s words, and his own beer bottle clinks with theirs once Claude nudges him. They all drink deeply, and Dimitri tries hard to not scrunch his face up with how gross and bitter it tastes. He supposes 7/11 isn't exactly the best place to shop for high class beverages, but he’ll cope.</p><p>“You’re all too sweet,” Dimitri says and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Truly, I—I’m… <em> very </em>fortunate. I love you all, dearly.”</p><p>“<em>Deer</em>ly?” Claude wags his brows, and Dimitri laughs again, shoving him lightly. “But we love you, too, man. Who would’ve thought we’d all come together like this?”</p><p>Already walking off, Felix says, “Just don’t tell Sylvain we had this moment without him, or we’ll never hear the end of it.”</p><p>“It’s fine, we can do this all again when he finds out and pretend it’s our first, too,” Yuri tells them after another sip.</p><p>The walk back is uneventful, with the four of them chattering idly. Dark ink is sweeping up the orange, and Dimitri imagines tonight will be a safe night. He often sleeps better with people around, proven with how his nightmares have cut in numbers over the years he has shared a bed with Dedue. He’s only ever had maybe two incidents where he’d woken up in a cold sweat in the company of their friends at a game night, with Dedue helping ground him soothingly, and Mercedes rushing to bring some water. None of them, he had realised the first time with a shock, had judged him for it. Concern was the only thing painted across their faces, those who were unfamiliar with the occurrence asking Felix and Sylvain quietly if there was anything they could do themselves to help. They had ended up putting <em>The</em> <em>Bee Movie </em>on as a distraction to try and fall asleep to again, and soon enough the group moved on from Dimitri’s night terrors to groaning about how of <em>course </em>Sylvain knows the entire introduction to the movie.</p><p><em> Yes</em>, Dimitri thinks as he tips his head back, marvelling at how cloudless the sky is. <em> Tonight will be alright. </em></p><p>Once he sticks his keys into the lock of the door and twists his wrist, the door gets pushed open, and their return is greeted by loud cheers. Claude shouts back just as loudly. “We come bearing booze!”</p><p>Cheers round again, and he, Felix, Dimitri and Yuri move to shed their jackets and kick their shoes off, Areadbhar running in circles around them in glee. Yuri is helped to the kitchen by an enthusiastic Hilda, and she squeals when she pulls out the bottles of pink.</p><p>“Ohhhh my gosh, are you for real?!” She gapes at Claude, who looks rather pleased with himself. “I haven’t had this shit since, like, our first year!”</p><p>“As long as we moderate just how much you chug tonight, I figured it could be a little treat for all the studying I know you’ve done.” Claude takes the other one and beckons By over with a sly grin he knows damn well she doesn't trust—and for good reason. “Be a star and try some of this?” he asks her jovially as she makes her way over.</p><p>Hilda laughs. “Whoa! Good luck.”</p><p>Opening the bottle, Claude makes an indignant noise. “Don’t say that, you’ll scare her off! I just want to know if this is where By’s taste buds finally surrender.” He offers her the bottle, and By skeptically accepts. She sniffs it, and scrunches her nose at the smell. Hilda and Claude both watch intently, fascinated.</p><p>By takes a small swing of it, and ends up coughing soon after, shoving the bottle back to Claude’s hands. “Fuck!” she says eloquently, and the duo cackle in delight. By’s face turns stern, and Claude pulls her close, kissing the corner of her lips.</p><p>“Awh, I’m sorry, my love, I don’t mean to tease. Although,” he tilts his head to whisper into her ear, “you can offer it to Byleth and see his own reaction. Hm?”</p><p>By kisses him, and it’s enough of an answer for him, trying not to pull away too soon as he tastes the too-sweet pink shit on her lips.</p><p>Hilda herself kisses his cheek once they part, white teeth flashing in approval. “Thanks, Claude.” He salutes her as she dances back to where Marianne is sitting on the couch, babbling about some story attached to whatever chaos the drink had enabled her to, years ago.</p><p>Once the fridge gets filled with the last remaining bottles, the doorbell chimes and Dedue rises from where he’s been sitting on the floor with Areadbhar to open it. The smell of a grand mix of takeaways fills the room, and once Dimitri rushes to help him bring it all over to the living room, words of thanks are thrown Claude’s way. He waves them off modestly as he joins the ruckus to help distribute food to the right people.</p><p>Dimitri ends up sitting far from where he had before leaving, on the carpet instead with Areadbhar resting her head on his thigh (though he’s not fooled, he knows she’s just there in case of the off-chance he accidentally drops some of his food), and Dimitri himself settled in Dedue’s lap. In the midst of fighting for the Sprite Sylvain requested, complaining how he has to suddenly share, Annette arranges the order of how the Mario Kart competitions will be played. Dimitri’s relieved to know his first go isn’t until a little later, so he slumps back against Dedue’s chest, shutting his eyes and enjoying himself.</p><p>He can feel Dedue’s steady heartbeat against his ear, and it makes him smile around his mouthful. When he cracks an eye open, he sees Dedue watching as the Byleths fight over the controller. He’s unaware of how he’s looking at him, as if he put up the sun, stars and more. Ironically enough, it is Dedue who is his sun. Dedue, who is so kind and selfless, Dedue who loves to garden and cook and clean, Dedue who cares for his friends as if they were blood family, Dedue who loves Dimitri just as Dimitri loves him. He must feel him stare, because now he’s looking down at him, vaguely intrigued by the silent attention.</p><p>“Are you alright, my dear?” he asks quietly, voice low and just for him.</p><p>He thinks for a moment of dropping to one knee, the ring he will offer glimmering in the light of the room, Dedue’s shock, and then his promise of <em> yes. </em>Dimitri is tempted to throw that all aside and ask him for his hand right here and now, because he feels like his ribs are cracking, giving in to the overwhelming love about to burst out of him.</p><p>Instead, though, he just smiles. “With you here, always.”</p><p>That special, split second of awe at his words is something Dimitri will never tire of. Dedue mirrors his smile, the arm loose around his middle pulling Dimitri closer. Areadbhar shifts a little, giving a dog-sigh as By is the one to finally win the controller, smug as her brother opens his mouth and lets past a few rare swears.</p><p>“I am glad,” Dedue tells him in his ear, and Dimitri’s cheeks ache along with his heart.</p><p>He’s forced to tear his gaze away with the sudden swell of shouts, Hilda making her throat grow raw over informing Marianne of the blue shell on the way to knock her and Princess Peach out of first place. By does nothing but smile as she takes Marianne’s place with Princess Daisy, otherwise still with her eyes fixed on the projection of the game. Claude, though, does all the yelling for her, enthusing about how there’s only one more lap—not that anything can really stop her at this point. Once either Byleth twins reach first place, it’s truly impossible to do anything to take them out. The groups’ biggest mistake had been letting them play against each other during one of their earliest game nights before Annette had even decided to start taking count of people’s wins. Needless to say, while nothing can break their bond as siblings, Mario Kart is perhaps the only thing to come near it.</p><p>As Bernadetta hands Dimitri some of the Sprite Sylvain had begrudgingly redistributed, he looks over to see her sat once again in Yuri’s lap, evidently having done a good job keeping the beanbag for themselves while he had gone to the store. She chews absently on some of the candy Yuri had bought for her, popping one into her mouth and then reaching up to offer him some, too. Bernadetta catches Dimitri looking at them, and she flushes. Feeling guilty, Dimitri waves, and she waves back, smiling awkwardly. He’ll make sure to try and get her to send him a copy of her latest draft of her book while she’s here. Yuri catches his eye while he signals for Bernadetta to talk with him later, and he winks at him after nodding his head towards Dedue. Dimitri sighs, shaking his head. Just because his friends are trustworthy doesn’t mean in any way he’ll be immune from their teasing until he actually proposes—but he knew that, and told them anyway.</p><p>The next few rounds carry on rather uneventfully, with the volume hardly ceasing and the tension fluctuating, depending very much on who is going up against whom. Hilda and Marianne drop out of the competition early on, as they typically do, and tend to their own bubble where they giggle and steal kisses in between feeding each other food, Jeritza hunched beside them, trying very hard to not intrude. The seating arrangements aren’t entirely unfortunate for him, though, as he and Byleth are snugly sat together, shoulders and knees touching constantly, so much so that Byleth seems to be in a permanent, red state. When Jeritza is on his phone, Claude and his sister encourage him through sign to make a move, and he tries discreetly to shake them off, all for naught, though, as they’re hardly ones to relent. He eventually huffs and carefully leans a little into Jeritza, head resting at his shoulder. Jeritza freezes a little, blinks, and his eyes flit over to Byleth. Mercedes celebrates the small smile on his face with Claude and By, their drinks clinking unapologetically.</p><p>Just as Dimitri ends his go with a rather successful run, coming in third over Sylvain, who just lost to him in fourth, he passes the controller to Dedue. Sylvain whines about his loss, insisting Felix ought to kiss his broken heart better, only for Felix to shove him off, gritting his teeth as he gets red-shelled.</p><p>With a dramatic gasp, Sylvain stands, evidently pretending to sulk. “Fine! Be that way! I’ll start getting shots ready for everyone. Come on, Dima!”</p><p>No one cares to remind him that until mere seconds ago, it was Dimitri who the sulk was aimed at initially, but nonetheless he excuses himself from Dedue’s lap and goes to follow Sylvain to the kitchen. He walks a little funny with how his legs have gone a somewhat numb while laid back in an odd position, and Sylvain mocks him a little for it. Sylvain gets the shot glasses out and in a neat line on the countertop as Dimitri hauls one big bottle of vodka out the fridge.</p><p>“Um,” he starts, unsure. “Is it… just the vodka?”</p><p>Sylvain laughs, but not in a mean way. “Dimitri, my man, how have you gone through nearly three years of college not knowing how to make shots?” When Dimitri opens his mouth, Sylvain raises a hand to stop him. “Now’s your chance to become the student, though, for I am the master!”</p><p>“No, you’re not!” Hilda doesn’t hesitate to input and Sylvain does a pointed job of ignoring her.</p><p>“Okay.” He puts his hands on Dimitri’s shoulders. “Kamikaze shot. Yeah?”</p><p>Dimitri hasn’t a clue what that means. “Yeah,” he says anyway.</p><p>Sylvain suspects so. “Right, we need vodka—which we got—and some lime juice, triple sec and ice. Got it?” With a nod, Dimitri goes to fetch the juice and the ice, hoping Sylvain will catch on and get the triple sec, because fuck knows what that even means. He does, thankfully. He stoops down to rummage for a cocktail shaker, too, setting it down next to the row of shot glasses. “Cool. Now, put some ice in. Good! You can use a shot glass to measure how much lime juice and sec you use, like this, watch.”</p><p>Dimitri does, although he’s quite sure he won’t ever use any of this knowledge, not when his friends are likely far more versed in the art of shot-making than he’ll ever be. Sylvain pours all the liquids in expertly, grinning as Dimitri watches intently despite being aware this will mean nothing to him when he’s done, just as it did when they started. He then hands Dimitri the shaker and demands just of it—to shake. Dimitri does, worried about making a mess, and Sylvain turns his back to him to grab some salt. He takes back the shaker and finishes the job quickly, uncapping it when he’s done.</p><p>“Tada!” He boasts once he fills up all the shot glasses but one, setting the shaker aside to bow. He gestures for Dimitri to step up. “Try one!”</p><p>“Ah,” Dimitri says. “I’m not sure if I should…”</p><p>Sylvain shrugs. “I won’t push, my guy. But, I’ll show you another way of taking a shot. Slice me a lime?” Turning to grab a lime from the fruit bowl, cutting it cleanly with one of the knives the house had invested in a month prior, Dimitri supplies him with it. “Excellent. Now, my dear student, watch. You pour plain old vodka into a shot glass, like so. Then, lick your hand just here—in the triangle between your thumb and first finger. Put some salt on it, though not too much. Got it? Sweet. Now watch this.”</p><p>He throws his head back as he swallows the shot in one gulp. He pulls a slight face, and then quickly licks at the salt on the back of his hand before making a grabby hand for the lime slice he’d put down. Dimitri laughs at his expression once he sucks on its juice, giving himself a shake.</p><p>“That looks terrible.”</p><p>“Oh, taste worse than ass, trust me. Sure you don’t want a try?” Sylvain offers, smacking his lips.</p><p>At this point, what has Dimitri got to lose? He shrugs, attempting at nonchalance. “Alright. Though, not the kamikaze one. That sounds a little… extreme."</p><p>Sylvain snorts, clasping his shoulder. “My friend, all shots are extreme. No take backsies, though!” He tells Dimitri to cut some lime up again, filling another shot glass with some more vodka. “Step up to the podium, kind sir!”</p><p>There is no podium, but Dimitri indulges him anyway, walking to the counter and letting him point out where to lick his hand. Dimitri does, before sprinkling some salt there messily. He feels awfully nervous for something so mundane, once the shot glass is in his hand. He takes a deep breath, and Sylvain encourages him, upset over how he left his phone with Felix back over in the living room. Dimitri, however, has never been gladder. He sucks in a deep breath and then shoots back the shot a little clumsily, almost forgetting to swallow with how his mouth suddenly burns.</p><p>“Salt!” Sylvain reminds him, and Dimitri goes to lick at it, gagging. Sylvain laughs.</p><p>The lime is the killer. He shudders with his whole body, feeling as though his skin is crawling. Sylvain pounds at his back as he coughs violently. From the far couch, Claude applauses him. Dimitri flips him off, which only provokes a massive laugh out of him, nearly throwing By off as she leans forward, most likely playing her second round.</p><p>“I am never doing that again,” Dimitri promises.</p><p>“Y’know, that’s what I said the first time I did one. But I feel like you mean it, so I congratulate you on being a wiser man than me,” Sylvain teases. “Alright, gang! Kamikaze shots ready! Come and get your shots, nice and fresh and with a kick that has about an 87% chance of killing you!” He cups his hands to project his voice, and most of those not playing a game of Mario Kart shuffle to do just that.</p><p>Hilda, Claude, Mercedes and Ashe come forward first. Ashe coughs after foolishly taking a whiff, and Sylvain jokes how he’s no better than Dimitri. Counting down, they shoot the shots, with Hilda and Claude linking their arms and drinking from each other’s glasses, whooping once they set them down again. Mercedes takes hers with her usual pensive expression, thanking Sylvain and Dimitri as she goes to check how much time is left before the edibles she’s making are done. Ashe chokes but tries to walk it off, pouting as Annette pokes fun at him.</p><p>“Y’know, Bernie. I don’t think I’ll ever get over you being one for vodka shots,” Sylvain admits as she and Yuri take their own glasses.</p><p>She simply shrugs. “Vodka Bernie is fun. Less nervous.”</p><p>“And a beast at Mario Kart,” Yuri adds with his wolfish grin.</p><p>“Yo, Byleths and Jeritza! Any for you? Fe, get your ass over here!” Sylvain calls.</p><p>By ignores him entirely, too caught up in her game, and Jertiza politely declines. Just as Felix shouts back how he’ll take one later, Byleth gets to his feet and walks over. Sylvain whistles lowly.</p><p>“How’s it going with you and Jeritza?” Dimitri asks he reaches the counters, and Byleth grimaces.</p><p>“Liquid courage,” he signs, pointing at the shot.</p><p>“Go get ‘im, tiger!” Sylvain tells him, and Byleth nods after he swallows. With a shake, he turns round and heads back to the couch. “He’s screwed,” he says brightly, and Dimitri laughs quietly.</p><p>They clean up a little, wiping the salt from the surface and rinsing the shot glasses for later use. Dimitri feels his stomach warm as the vodka meets the gross beer from earlier. Another drink, and he’ll be drunk. He’s not proud to be a lightweight, but to be fair, it feels good to know his limits. A few times getting dragged into bar hopping has paid off in that regard, at least. His focus drags from wiping down the counter to Dedue, who laughs a little at something Ashe and Bernadetta are discussing with him while Yuri’s eyes are fixed on the game. He feels his heartstrings tug a little at the sound, and he smiles without meaning to.</p><p>“So,” Sylvain has dropped his voice intentionally, only wanting Dimitri to hear him now, “when are you gonna do it?”</p><p>Dimitri’s brows thread together, and he throws the damp cloth into the sink. “Do what?” He leans against the cabinets.</p><p>Sylvain’s smile is soft, and he sits cross-legged on the island. “Propose to Dedue.”</p><p>There’s nothing for him to choke on but air, yet Dimitri somehow still manages it. “I—did Felix tell you?”</p><p>He shakes his head quickly, waving his hands around. “No! No, I swear. I’ve… actually known for a while.” Sylvain rubs the back of his shoulder somewhat guiltily. “I was on a call with my bank and I needed to check something quickly online. Your laptop was logged on in the living room so I went to use it and… Well, I saw you looking at rings, man.”</p><p>“Oh,” Dimitri says stupidly. And then he feels himself panic. “Do you think—?”</p><p>“Nah, I don’t reckon he saw. I’m sure he would’ve brought it up if he had. He’s like that, huh?”</p><p>He supposes he’s right. “I’m surprised you’ve kept it quiet for so long,” he jokes wryly.</p><p>Sylvain shakes with small laughter. “Me, too. But I know it’s important to you, y’know? And I sensed something happened between you guys when you went out to the store. When Yuri winked at you and Dedue, I kinda assumed. And don’t feel bad for not telling me, ‘cause <em> I </em>wouldn’t have told me.”</p><p>Dimitri nods slowly. “Right. Still, I apologise.”</p><p>“Listen, just promise you’ll take me ring shopping and you’ll make Felix the best man. I know it would make him stupidly happy. He’s really missed you, you know? He’s super glad you guys are on way better terms now.” Sylvain’s smile is sincere, and Dimitri can’t help but look over to where Felix holds the controller over his head so that Annette can’t reach. She ends up hopping off the couch and onto his back, and Felix’s laughter rings. Sylvain’s followed his gaze, and there’s that lovesick glaze to his eyes that Dimitri remembers seeing for the first time, three years ago with his eyes on Felix just as they are now.</p><p>He admits, “Actually, I already told him I plan on him being it. I want nothing more. Well, nothing more besides…” He falters, suddenly flustered by the words he has trouble forming.</p><p>Sylvain’s smirking. “Besides marrying Dedue?” An embarrassing squeak escapes him, and he shushes him. Sylvain’s soft smile wipes the smirk off again. “I get it, man. You better be Fe’s best man in return for our wedding, though.”</p><p>Dimitri’s mouth drops open. “Your—?”</p><p>Now it’s Sylvain’s turn to look flustered. “You’re not the only one who thinks he invented love, Dima.”</p><p>He breathes a laugh, and now they’re hugging, albeit a little crookedly with how Sylvain is sat. “I’m happy for us,” he sniffles.</p><p>Throat suddenly thick, Sylvain nods. “Yeah. Same.”</p><p>“What’re you idiots weeping about?” Felix’s voice makes Dimitri jump back in surprise. Sylvain gives him grief for it.</p><p>“Turns out your boyfriend is a snoop and knew about what we… <em> discussed </em>earlier,” Dimitri explains.</p><p>With the vodka sliding down easily with his swallow, Felix goes to rinse the glass. “Are you surprised?”</p><p>Dimitri shrugs. “Guess not.”</p><p>“I’m a cleverer man than you both give me credit for,” Sylvain claims, along with Felix’s lips.</p><p>Drawing back just far enough to speak, Felix says, “Don’t be stupid. We know damn well.”</p><p>“Yeah, you must. I was good enough to sweep you of all people off their feet, huh?”</p><p>Felix mumbles something Dimitri can’t catch, and they kiss again, only pulling back once Dimitri says, “I think I’ll do it after we graduate.”</p><p>He has his back to them, but he can hear the expression on Felix’s face. “Fine. Just don’t forget my deal for the rings.”</p><p>As he heads back for the living room, Dimitri shoots back, “As long as you don’t forget mine.”</p><p>The rest of the evening goes by too fast for his liking, and soon enough, they all start pulling out the sofa beds. Claude goes out for a moment to his car, joined by Marianne, to grab some extra pillows and blankets for them to all use. Even after a year and a half of tradition, Dimitri still can’t begin to understand how fifteen people and a golden retriever fit in the living room to sleep together. He supposes they make it work. People begin to nip in and out to shower and get changed into pyjamas as Mario Kart gets swapped out for Smash, with only a few people playing now. Some are living off the high of a sleepy, drunken haze, others fighting to stay awake to avoid being called out for it when morning comes. Yuri, Sylvain and Hilda share a blunt in the back garden, and their faint laughter is heard from behind the glass sliding door.</p><p>Dimitri, as one of the hosts, insists on showering last, and battles it out against Claude, Felix and Ashe. Favouring Link out of habit, Dimitri does a good job of wiping Claude’s smirk off his face as he knocks Cloud off the platform.</p><p>“Aw, c’mon! I call cheats!” he complains, pouting.</p><p>“I’m afraid it’s just several embarrassing hours of practice.” Dimitri dares a smug look, and Claude sighs, handing the controller to Jeritza as the results come in, placing Link in number one again.</p><p>Felix groans out of frustration and goes on his phone while Ashe goes to the kitchen to help Dedue with making a shopping list for the morning, where the more sober counterparts of the Lions will go and stock up on food.</p><p>“I imagine I can give you a run for your money,” he insists, as monotone as ever, and Byleth shifts a little from where he was cuddled up to him to give him room. “Oh. No, it’s fine,” Jeritza mumbles to him, and Byleth’s smile is a surprised one, and he assumes his position again.</p><p>Mercedes smiles fondly from where she comes back from giving Bernadetta her towel, and By herself gags at the sight. Seeing her, Claude holds his arms out, reaching.</p><p>“C’meeeeere,” he drags the word out, and By smiles as she crawls into his lap. He kisses her hair. “You smell like lemon grass.”</p><p>Humming, By tells him, “That’d be the shampoo Annette has. Forgot mine."</p><p>“I like it,” Claude muffles into her neck.</p><p>“Noted.”</p><p>As Yuri, Sylvain and Hilda slip back inside, passing around wads of gum to chew and clear their breaths, Mercedes claps. “Oh! You almost had him, Emile! Dimitri is very hard to beat.”</p><p>“Yeah, ‘cause Dima has mad hacks,” Sylvain jokes, collapsing onto the pillows beside Felix. “You showered already, babe?”</p><p>“Nah, I will in the morning before we go shopping.” Felix doesn’t look up from his phone.</p><p>With his arms around him now, Sylvain suggests slyly, “Maybe I’ll join you.” The yelp following those words indicate Felix likely pinched him. “Man, you’re such a romantic.” He catches Dimitri’s eye as Felix gruffs something in return, and Dimitri smiles. They really are made for each other.</p><p>He wins this match, too, but he’s gotten bored. He chucks the controller at Sylvain. “You play. Would anyone like some hot chocolate?” he asks when he stretches, and every single person affirms they would, including Ashe who passes Bernadetta on the stairs once she comes tiptoeing down. Lucky for her, Yuri’s just reclaimed the beanbag once more.</p><p>Areadbhar follows Dimitri to the kitchen, and he grabs her dog food while he’s here, filling her bowl. “Is there a lot we have to get?”</p><p>“Nothing out of the usual list,” Dedue says and Dimitri nods, telling Areadbhar to sit first and wait for him to put the bowl down.</p><p>He steps back to let her eat, and she does messily. He’s so terribly fond of this dog, he thinks as he scratches her behind her ears. “Oh!” He suddenly remembers. “You can take spices off the list. I got some at the store earlier from you. They’re the Duscur ones you like so much.”</p><p>Dedue’s smile is sweet. “Thank you, my love.”</p><p>“Anything for you.” Dimitri would find it shameful how easily breathless he gets around him, if he were not so far gone for him. “Help me make hot chocolate? You always make the presentation so pretty.”</p><p>Dedue nods, and they get to work. Dimitri tries not to think about how easily domestic this feels, dancing around each other in the kitchen, giggling when they bump into the other. He wonders how many nights he’ll spend like this in whatever house Dedue and he get together, and if—dare he take this thought that one bit further, just this once—it would be the same one they would raise their children in. Because Dimitri so desperately wants this future for himself that just a few years ago he thought himself completely unworthy of.</p><p>By the time they call people up one by one to get their hot chocolates (decorated neatly with whips of cream and specks of chocolate Dedue had carefully grated), Dimitri feels himself grow tired. They’ve given up completely on games now, with them reluctantly settling on watching the Sonic movie under, quite predictably, Sylvain’s request. The lights are dimmed, with only the fairy lights Annette had put up when they’d moved in being the source of light in the living room, along with the projection of the movie.</p><p>Dimitri can see everyone bunched up in blankets, cuddled close to their partners and friends. Claude and By claim a half of one of the sofa beds, holding each other close with him whispering something into her ear that makes her laugh quietly. Beside them, Hilda holds a sleeping Marianne to her chest, half-asleep herself. Areadbhar is spread across both Annette and Ashe who share a part of the carpet together, and Dimitri silently cheers for Byleth, who is snuggled up to Jeritza it seems. He had overheard something about the both of them maybe going on an ice cream date.</p><p>He decides to bring Bernadetta and Yuri’s mugs over to them, with how comfortable they look, murmuring words Dimitri can’t distinguish, but imagines are sweet with the way they look at each other. Yuri nods at him in thank you, and Mercedes takes a break from her knitting to accept her own mug from Dedue. Sylvain’s already drunk his cup, and he begs Dimitri for more, shut down by Felix, reminding how any more sugar will keep him up half the night. Sylvain must whisper something scandalous back in return, because even in the low light it’s obvious that Felix is blushing, and he smacks him weakly across the chest.</p><p>Dimitri lingers by the threshold between the kitchen and the living room, watching as everyone just simply exists together. It’s such a small thing, a gathering of friends, sharing blankets and jokes as they watch a movie, and yet it’s something Dimitri tears up at. To anyone else looking in on this moment, it must look like nothing special—and perhaps it is. But it means everything to Dimitri. It’s such a promise of safety, of warmth and joy and <em> home </em>that he had unknowingly craved for so long. Now that he has it, he’ll do anything to cling on, and make new moments similar to ones such as this. It’s a childish attachment he feels for it, entirely sentimental and too sappy for anyone’s good, but he can’t help it.</p><p>“‘Mitya?” Dedue’s voice is soft and tender, as are his arms now around him. He breathes out shakily, and it must make Dedue worry some more. “Is something wrong, my love?”</p><p>There’s a watery smile on his face as Dimitri whispers to him with all the honesty in the world, “No, my beloved. I’m just happy, is all.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank u for reading :D follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/feIIstars">twt!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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